The Bonus Brave -- John DeMerit of Port Washington
It was on this date in 1957 that John DeMerit signed a $100,000 bonus deal to play professional baseball for his hometown big league club, the Milwaukee Braves. De Merit had just completed his junior season at the University of Wisconsin and had been a four-sport athlete at Port Washington, where he returned in 1962 and still l ives with his wife, Gladys. Typical of De Merit, he did not report to Milwaukee until after he finished his examinations at Wisconsin in mid-June and he evetually graduated in physical education and recreation in 1960. Below is the story of John DeMerit's big signing day and his athletic career, based on personal interviews done in 2010 and numerous newspaper articles published in the Wisconsin State Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel: ''-- Steven D. Schmitt'' He had a rifle arm and a powerful bat. He ran like the wind and thumped while he did it, according to John De Merit's UW outfield mate Bill Rubin. His college deeds -- including a school hoe run record and two team MVP awards -- atrracted major league scouts. Eventually John DeMerit signed a $100,000 bonus contract with the Milwaukee Braves, seated at a table in the DeMerit home on Franklin Street in Port Washington, less than 30 miles from County Stadium. Like many bonus players of the time, John DeMerit rusted on the bench waiting for a chance to play. The major leagues had instituted the so-called bonus rule which said that any prospect signed for an amount in excess of $4,000 had to stay on the big club's roster for two seasons. It also meant that general managers -- in this case, Milwaukee's John Quinn -- had to make room for the "bonus babies" on the 25-player squad. When Robert "Hawk" Taylor reproted June 4, the Braves sold Chuck Tanner to the Chicago Cubs. When De Merit signed, he reported on June 15 and the Braves had a spot created with the blockbuster trade with the New York Giants that brought Hall of Fame second baseman Albert "Red" Schoendienst to Milwaukee. The move solidifed the infield and ostensibly theentire team and a slightly above average third place team went on to win the National League pennant and the 1957 World Series over the New Yankees. De Merit surprised his new teammates in his first at-bat, lacing a clean single up the middle at the Polo Grounds in New York off Giants pitcher Stu Miller, the Trevor Hoffman of his day who baffled the Braves for years with his slow stuff. "They fell over on the bench," DeMerit recalls. "Since I hadn't seen him before, I probably had an advantage." De Merit was used chiefly as a pinch-hitter and pinch-runner (including an appearance as a runner in World Series Game 3 in Milwaukee) and started a few games in center field after veterna Billy Bruton was injured in early July. Though Quinn had told the press that DeMerit might help the team immediately because of a lack of production in left field, the Braves kept trying to acquire veterans to fill the spot, such as the Pirates' Frank Thomas or the Cardinals' Del Ennis, who had a string of 100 RBI years with the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1950s. Then and today, DeMerit says he was more concerned with languishing on the bench instead of getting essential seasoning in the minor leagues. "You aren't working on your skills," he says. "I should have been on my way up through the minors and working on a major league career." De Merit finally got his minor league opportunities in 1959 and 1960, playing in Jacksonville, Atlanta and Louisville. The 1960 Louisville Colonels in fact won the Junior World Series over the Toronto Maple Leafs, a 100-victory squad rated as one of the top 100 minor league teams in history by some experts. The late Jack Kent Cooke owned the team, stocked with veterans such as George (Sparky) Anderson and former Brave Chuck Tanner for entry into Branch Rickey's Continental League, a third major league that never got going. The Louisville roster read like my baseball card colelction from the 1960s. In addition to DeMerit and Hawk Taylor, the Colonels had Mack Jones in center field, Frank Torre and Tommie Aaron at first base, and Lee Maye as a reserve outfielder. Stan Lopata handled most of the catching, with occasional relief help from a kid from Milwaukee named Bob Uecker. Don Nottebart and Bob Hendley led the ptiching staff. One of the relievers was former Chicago Cubs submarine ball pitcher Ted Abernathy. Another was a little used rookie named Phil Niekro. The Colonels caught fire in the second half of the season with DeMerit batting third and Taylor fourth, driving in a combined 140 runs with 12 and 17 homers, respecitvely. The Colonels, who were not expected to doi so well because of the number of youngsters on the team, beat Toronto in six games. DeMerit calls it "the most satisfying year that I ever had in baseball." In 1961, DeMerit was back in the Braves' camp in Florida, hoping to win a job. Unfortunately, Frank Thomas, Lee Maye and Al Spangler were there, too. DeMerit played sparingly and batted .188. In 1962, expansion gave De Merit another opportunity with the original Amazin' Mets of manager Casey Stengel. DeMerit found the experience frustrating as the Mets decided to play aging veterans such as Fank Thomas, Gil Hodges, Charlie Neal and Richie Ashburn rather than bringing talented prospects liek himself into the mix. On May 20, 1962, De Merit was assigned to Syracuse and had his salary cut from $10,000 to $5,000. Instead of reporting, De Merit returned to the Milwaukee area and decided to stay there and raise a family. Even a promise from John Quinn (now with the Phillies) that he would sign DeMerit if he was ever released did not come true. John DeMerit has no regrets. He did what he could with his opportunity, got an excellent education at Wisconsin, and was able to apply his background and experience as Port Washington's parks and recreation director for 26 years, retiring in 1995. He and his wife Gladys raised seven children, three of whom still live in Port Washington while the others have remained in Wisconsin. This story says a mouthful about a four-sport athlete who set records in basketball and track, played quarterback on the football team, set a Wisconsin record with 12 home runs in a 27-game season in 1956 ("The ball jsut hopped off his bat," says teammate Wayne "Knobby Kelliher), and played professional major league baseball for a world champion. John DeMerit was successful without losing himself in his ambitions or goals. He did the work needed to be a good athlete, applied himself under the tutelage of good coaches, and did not let the crazy world of professional baseball get him down. He always went about his business and was never one to blow his own horn. "I have never known him," Gladys says, "to be any other way." That's not only good enough for John DeMerit but for everyone who has had the pleasure of knowing him.